Polish Government recently announced that the country will have its first high-speed rail line by 2020. The announcement was made during a French-Polish conference about intercity and urban rail transport. Infrastructures Minister Cezary Grabarczyk declared that this first project would link the cities of Warsaw, Poznan, and Wroclaw (west of the country). A high-speed rail line between the capital city and both western cities could, in theory, cut journey times by more than half.

€8 billion project, around 500 kilometres of tracks

The proposal will be submitted to the whole Polish Government early 3Q 2008, in order to launch the feasability studies. The Infrastructures Ministry plans to finish the preliminary studies by 2010. The Government aims to begin construction by 2014 and complete it in 2019, to start operation by 2020.

The project is evaluated at €8 billion (€6 to €7 billion for construction, and €1 billion for rolling stock), and the proposed Y-shaped-corridor has a main branch from Warsaw to Lodz, and two distinct legs going to Poznan and Wroclaw, respectively at 330 kilometres and 345 kilometres from Warsaw. With 35 trainsets running on the tracks, Minister Grabarczyk expects the trips to last around 1h30 while they are presently around 5h30 and 3h00 ! Also, what the Polish Government wants, is to link the network to the European already efficient high-speed rail network.

Poland will be inviting bids for the rolling stock but Minister Grabarczyk definitely showed his preference for the new 360-kph-French Alstom AGV (entering service in Italy in 2011), even saying that “The AGV doesn’t seem to have any competition.”

PKP PLK is preparing the studies’ documentation

Since a couple months now, PKP PLK, the Polish State Railways subsidiary that manages the railway infrastructure (equivalent of Réseau Ferré de France, in France), is already preparing the feasibility study on the proposed high speed rail corridor.

More than just cutting travel times, PKP PLK agrees that the high-speed railway will improve passenger safety, and minimise the environmental impact. PKP PLK also expects the high-speed rail project to increase the rail modal share in passenger transport in Poland.

References

  • Article: Des TGV en Pologne d’ici 2020, Le Moniteur, Jun. 4, 2008: here

References from the Transport Information Group

High-Speed Rail coverage on the Transport Information Group: